DPP withdraws murder charge against cops accused of shooting unarmed man

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack has withdrawn a joint murder charge against Police Constable Troy Munroe and Police Corporal Godwin Thomas, who were charged in August 2020 for fatally shooting an unarmed man during a Police operation at D’Urban Street, Georgetown.

Upon reviewing the case file, the DPP withdrew the charge against the Police ranks and advised that Constable Munroe alone be charged with manslaughter. The Police were further advised to conduct investigations in relation to the ballistic evidence and return the file to the DPP for further advice on Corporal Thomas and another Police rank.

Contacted on Wednesday, Attorney-at-Law Patrice Henry, who is representing Constable Thomas and Corporal Munroe, confirmed that his clients were still on the job. He said that they have been released on $500,000 station bail each. According to Henry, Constable Munroe is still to be arraigned on the new charge. He said that it was more than likely that his client would make a court appearance after the DPP provided her advice.
Corporal Munroe and Constable Thomas were previously charged with the murder of 39-year-old Cecil Sampat, a John Fernandes Limited employee, who was unarmed when he was shot four times on July 25, 2020 by Police ranks.
Guyana Times previously reported that on July 25, three Police Officers were on patrol when they observed a large gathering at the junction of Agricola Public Road on the East Bank Highway.
The ranks subsequently requested the crowd to disperse but in doing so, two men were seen punching each other. Soon after, one of them whipped out a gun and pointed it in the direction of the other as he attempted to enter a motor car with registration plates PYY 4432.
The motor car sped off the scene, but the Police reportedly went in pursuit. The car was finally intercepted at D’Urban Street and Mandela Avenue, Georgetown. The four men were reportedly placed to lie on the ground as other patrol vehicles arrived at the scene.
The Police did not report what led to the shooting, but 27-year-old Winston Fraser and Sampat were shot to their backs. They were escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where Sampat succumbed to his injuries almost two weeks after. It was reported that no weapons were recovered from the occupants of the vehicle.